oral thrush etc.

hi there, was just wondering if anyone could possibly give me some advice. i had protected intercourse with a woman at the start of december and noticed the condom had come off a few moments after seeing it was still on, a mistake simply due to alcohol! so I put another one on straight away. ever since then ive been paranoid anytime i felt flu-ish without a runny nose etc. this was my only sexual encounter within the last few years(with 2 other occasions being with a virgin carrying no risk), iv had swollen glands but i may have developed this before the incident, and only one gland is now slightly swollen in my neck. being paranoid, i went for an 60 second instant hiv test the other day (which would have been just after five months) which came back negative. i explained to the doctor i had a white tongue, which may have been present before the incident but gradually got worse. he diagnosed me with oral thrush and prescribed fluconazole 50mg for 7 days, im currently on day 4 and cannot see any improvement. im basically just wondering are these symptoms definitely not related to hiv? is that definitely reliable? and also how long should the fluconazole take to work. any help would be greatly appreciated!

[evenflow1121]

Oral Thrush occurs in the later stages of HIV.  You had a negative test done at 5 months, the CDC states that a test is conclusive at 3 months.  Your test came back negative at 5 months, you do not have HIV.  Move on with your life, your oral thrush is something else not related to HIV, because you dont have HIV.

[ja246]

Do you smoke or recently had antibiotics?

NHS specify that oral thrush is common with smokers as well as people who have had antibiotics along with poor dental hygeine. In addition, the other 50% of the population will have it.

I think from oral thurush alone you can attribute it to HIV.


[Also check the HIV prevention archives, docto H has had it in the past and has commented on it numerous times as not a n indicator of HIV]

[nufc]

thanks for the reassurance guys! im aware im being paranoid but it is very difficult to ignore symptoms. i dont smoke and havent taken antibiotics for a long time, i didnt have the best oral hygiene a few years ago but the only problems from that were a few fillings. i think iv noticed it occasionally throughout the past year or so but only really thought about it when it felt like something was stuck in my throat while brushing my teeth. the only problems within the past year would have been pain from wisdom teeth. would this be a problem that a dentist would know how to treat better? the doctor said it usually takes a few days to work but just thought i would have seen an improvement by now

[worried826]

My doc said I had thrush and he gave me the meds and they didnt do a damn thing for it. I dont even think its thrush, plus the doc didnt actually take a sample to verify. All he swabbed me for was streph. My tongue just has a white coating.

Is your saliva white too? If so its probably something else other than thrush.

[nufc]

well im only on day 4 of a 7 day course so for all i know it could be working but i still cant see any difference. how long have you had it for and how long were you taking the meds? also do you have any other symptoms?

i dont think theres any white saliva, obviously if you spit it appears white but all iv got is loads of white spots on my tongue with a few bigger red looking spots at the very back of my tongue towards my throat. obviously its not as big a deal when you discover its not hiv related but its quite annoying now.

[worried826]

Yeah its annoying and it gets me mad. Ive had it like a month and a half. The red spots you see on the back are probably the big taste buds that are on the back of the tongue.

[worried826]

Well I reread and see you have a negative test 5 months out so you dont have HIV.

How did your doctor diagnose you with thrush? Did he just look or did he take a culture of it and examine it? I think the doc that saw me misdiagnosed me since the fluconase (1 150mg pill on day one and the other 150mg pill 3 days later) and liquid nystatin didnt do anything at all to clear it up and fluconase is a potent anti fungal so if it was thrush it would have cleared up. But here I am a month later still with a whitish looking tongue, its not bad or anything just annoying to look at. And my saliva is a little on the thick side and kind of white.

You can search on this site and find a bunch of people that have white tongues and their docs gave them ant fungals and they didnt work. I tend to believe when a doc sees a white tongue they just assume thrush and prescribe anti fungals without doing any actual real tests. A few of them actually wound up having a stomach bacterial infection. Thats what Im going to get checked for next.

[nufc]

no he just had a quick look and said it was probably thrush, iv prob had it for a while so its either not thrush or will take a while to get rid of. did you get any cultures taken? im going to another doc tomorrow cos il have finished my fluconazole so will make him do a proper check!

ive been going out a lot this year so i dunno whether to ask if it could be due to alcohol intake or whatever. when you gettin checked next?

[Teak]

Yes alcohol can cause thrush and so can mouth washes with alcohol.

[worried826]

See he didnt check yours either, just took a visual. I think with fluconozale if it is thrush it clears up pretty fast. Dont quote me on that though although the pharmicist told me that the dosage I had is typical.

Funny that you mention alcohol because for the last 6 months before I got it I was doing a lot of drinking and going out to the clubs at least 3 times a week. Plus when I drink I start to smoke cigarettes, which I usually dont smoke.

[nufc]

that could explain it to some extent, although some websites say mouthwash can help it whereas others say it can cause it, then others say acidic fruit can help and others say to avoid them!

i have been using an alcohol based mouthwash for a few months, could one with chlorhexidine gluconate help it instead?

[Teak]

Yes if it were thrush, fluconozale would have cleared up the thrush. So would eating yogart.

[nufc]

well im on the 5th day of my course and i cant tell if its getting better or not, it could just look that way sometimes cos iv been scrubbing my tongue and drinking lots of water. been having probiotic yoghurts and taking plenty of vitamin c and zinc etc, although still been having the mouthwash. will stop that and get a different mouthwash called corsodyl, but if it doesnt clear up i cant really imagine what it could be!

[worried826]

Yeah I have tried all the anti-yeast **** out there, fluconozale, liquid nystatin, massive yogurt intake, probiotic pills, even herbal hippy **** like oil of oregano and Threelac.

Nothing made the white tongue go away. Im convinced it wasnt thrush in the first place. Its either something in my stomach or its just a normal white coating since its really not that bad, I could have had this for years and juts never noticed it until i started worrying.

[nufc]

well my tongue is basically white, then it looks alright after i scrape it with a toothbrush, but iv got a few raised red lesions at the very back of my tongue so really worried after reading that leukoplakia can have that!!

[Teak]

More than likely it isn't thrush. If you would have thrush you would be complaining more than just having a white tongue. "It hurts!"

[LIZZIE LOU]

you do not have a hiv concern and nobody here can diagnose whether or not you have thrush.

your 5 month test is conclusive and you do not have hiv.

[worried826]

The red bumps on the very back of the tongue on the sides are taste buds. You probably never really ever stuck your tongue out that far in the mirror to see them until you started wondering about the whiteness. I thought the same thing too but those bumps are your taste buds and are normal.

Also leukoplakia doos not look what what you are describing.

[worried826]

Can you get as pic of your tongue and link it?

[nufc]

i tried taking a few photos but none came out clear enough! basically i went to see a gp today so he had a look, said the red bumps on the back of the tongue were normal so you were right! think its just cos of the white tongue that they looked more emphasised.

basically he said if the fluconazole wasnt working then its probably not thrush, so im going back for a blood test tomorrow, then gotta make another appointment for results and to possibly take some swabs. not quite sure what it is now, to be honest it could just be some sort of dental infection but who knows. appreciate your advice tho! is your tongue still white dude?

[worried826]

I told you those bumps were normal, you just never notice them until you stick your tongue out really far and look in the mirror. Yeah I figured that if your meds arent working then it isnt thrush. Yeah mines still white, although its really not bad at all, just a thin whiteness of the papillaie on the tongue.

Ask your doctor for a h. pylori breat test while you are there too. Its a simple test for a stomach bacteria. I have heard from a few people that had white tongues and it wound up being that. Treatment is a course of 2 or 3 antibiotics for a week.

Turn the flash off for a good pic of the tongue.